Obama: Nation 'will emerge stronger'

President tries to rally public for his policies

Mark SilvaChicago Tribune

Published Wednesday, February 25, 2009

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama, striving to hold public support for massive government intervention in a staggering economy, vowed Tuesday night that an embattled nation "will emerge stronger than before."

With his first formal address as president to a joint session of Congress -- and speaking also to a national television audience -- Obama attempted to add a new dimension to the debate over what the government can offer for a financial crisis that has gripped the nation in a worsening recession: A sense of hope.

"While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken," the president said in his prime-time address, "though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."

After a month of attention on the $787 billion economic stimulus that Obama won from Congress after four weeks in office, and complaints from critics that the massive spending plan will only saddle the nation with more debt, the president also attempted to add new words to the dialogue going forward: "Fiscal responsibility" in government, "honesty" in budgeting and deficit-cutting.

On Thursday, the president will propose a new federal budget for fiscal 2010 that the White House says will mark the beginning of a commitment to cut the annual federal deficit in half by the end of Obama's four-year term.

"My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue," Obama said, based on an advanced text of his speech. "It reflects the stark reality of what we've inherited -- a trillion dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession. ... Given these realities, everyone in this chamber -- Democrats and Republicans -- will have to sacrifice some worthy priorities for which there are no dollars. And that includes me."

The White House had signaled in advance that there would be little news of substance in this address.

Instead, Obama's first turn at the most potent podium in Washington represented an attempt to rally a public largely inclined to support his handling of the economy: 67 percent of Americans surveyed in a new Opinion Research Corp. poll said they think the policies that Obama is pursuing "will move the country in the right direction." Just 31 percent said he is taking the wrong course.

"The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation," Obama said, according to a prepared text of his speech. "The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. ... What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more."

At the same time, public confidence in the performance of the new president has slid somewhat after a month of worsening economic news.

The Gallup Poll, tracking public opinion about Obama daily, reported Tuesday that, for the first time, the percentage of people saying they approve of the job that the president is doing has slipped below 60 percent. The survey taken Saturday through Monday showed 59 percent approval for Obama's performance in office. In the days after his inauguration, approval stood at 68 percent.

Obama, who courted Republicans to work with him in the economic stimulus only to have all the House's Republicans oppose the bill and just three of the Senate's Republicans support it, is attempting to revive a sense of bipartisanship in the budget debates going forward.

"I know that we haven't agreed on every issue thus far, and there are surely times in the future when we will part ways," the president was planning to say. "But I also know that every American who is sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed."

Still, the official Republican response to the president's address, planned for delivery on television by Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana after the president's speech, was unequivocal: "Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. ... It's irresponsible. And it's no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children."

A little more than one month into office and more than $1 trillion deep into federal action on a struggling economy, Obama is attempting to convince the public that he is as prudent about spending as he is concerned about the nation's economic plight and the need for the stimulus of government spending.

Obama delivered this premier address against a backdrop of rising unemployment, sinking stock prices, rampant home mortgage foreclosures and a crippling credit crunch. At the same time, he left unanswered questions about the government's intentions in taking greater control over struggling banks.

In addition to the stimulus, the Obama administration has announced nearly $300 billion of federal assistance for the mortgage market and homeowners facing foreclosure or slumping home values.

And now, signaling his seriousness to keep deficits from spiraling out of control, he says the new federal budget he proposes this week -- a $3-trillion-plus spending plan for the year ahead -- will mark the start of a commitment to cut the budget deficit to $533 billion by the end of his four-year term.

In the midst of all this, Obama has highlighted the progress possible in education, energy, health care and other fields with the billions of dollars that the government is investing in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Obama also promises that 3.5 million jobs can be created or saved with the work that this stimulus will sponsor.

"Now is the time to act boldly and wisely -- to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity," Obama planned to say. "Now is the time to jump-start job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down. That is what my economic agenda is designed to do."

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Voicing a sense of hope -- a promise that the nation's best days still lie ahead -- also is critical for a president who is nevertheless determined to confront the real hardship that many Americans are facing. In recent days, former President Bill Clinton has made a round of national news interviews suggesting that Obama, while sober in his assessment of the recession, must offer hope as well.

Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana touted as a potential national candidate in 2012, responded: "We appreciate his message of hope -- but sometimes it seems we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you -- the American people."

Obama's longer-range challenge will be maintaining public support for government initiatives to combat a recession that already has delivered the highest unemployment rate since 1993 and the lowest stock prices since 1997.

"I reject the view that says our problems will simply take care of themselves," the president planned to say, "that says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity."